


by any other name

by Skyepilot



Category: Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (TV)
Genre: Bobbi trying to work through her loss with Coulson, Complicated Relationships, Coulson still calls her Skye, Daisy's haircut, Dealing With Loss, F/M, I can't stop making debriefing jokes sorry, Inhumans (Marvel), Kissing, Mack trying to be helpful, Name Changes, Names, Phil Coulson loves Daisy Johnson, Phil's having trouble calling Skye Daisy, Second Chances, Sexual Content, Wet Daisy, wet coulson
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-10-04
Updated: 2015-10-04
Packaged: 2018-04-24 19:12:32
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,417
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4931890
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Skyepilot/pseuds/Skyepilot
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Current obsession is the first name trade between Phil and Daisy and how the show will play it out.  Just stuff I'm thinking about in regards to that, and of course to get my feels out.</p>
            </blockquote>





	by any other name

**1.**

 

“ _Skye_.”

 

He leans forward and takes the file from her outstretched hand.  
  
Her expression is focused but it’s like she's waiting for something from him.  
  
“It's a personal request,” she begins, rocking on the balls of her feet a little.

“About my file. Sir.”

He blinks a few times looking down at it, now open in front of him on his desktop.  
  
“I see.”  
  
It's barely registering but he can't say _nothing_. He understands, he thinks.  
  
“It's,” she begins. “I know, now.” She gestures to the file, sounding very sure. “After all of that searching.”

Not just for her name, but for her origins. 

She’s Skye, but she’s also  _Inhuman_ .

He looks back down on it again, and reads over the form, giving her time to say whatever else it is she might want to say, certain he can’t find fully-formed words just yet.

“I just wanted you to know first,” she adds. “And, to say…thank you.”  
  
“Thank me?” he manages, trying to hide the rattle in his voice.  
  
“For helping me,” she says, with a shy smile.  There’s something fond and nostalgic in it. “From the moment you knew.”  
  
His mouth opens but he's not sure what to say. She looks away, and he looks away, trying to find the damn right words.

It feels like years ago, when he promised to help her dig for information on her parents inside SHIELD.

“I’ll take care of it right away,” he replies, sounding official.

Swallowing, when he picks up his pen to sign the form in front of her so she can know that he’s in agreement. 

It  _is_ important.  Those answers she wanted.

He just didn’t know it would result in…this.

“I'm gonna...go tell the others now,” she says assuring him.  
  
“Thanks,” he say, another involuntary swallow.

And then a moment later, he’s looking up to see the door click shut behind her.

“For the head’s up,” he tells the air.

He sits back in his chair and stares at the name in the file.

 

** 2.  **

 

“What do you call her?”

“Excuse me?”   
  
He didn’t hear him come in.  It’s been a quiet morning. 

Coulson’s kind of a quiet guy in a lot of ways.  Background quiet, unless he needs to be louder, he’s not. 

Eyes fall on Coulson’s hand shaking, as he pours his own coffee, and Mack manages to tear his gaze away.  

Swallows the pang of guilt.  
  
He's alive. That's what matters.  

“Skye,” Coulson says, quickly, as his eyes make a scan of the room.  
  
“Oh, you mean _Daisy_?”  
  
He doesn't say anything back _exactly_.  Mack waits until he finishes pouring, holding the first of what he knows will be many cups of coffee today.  
  
Mack bumps the back of his hand against the other man’s chest.  
  
“C'mon, you know how she is,” he says lightly.  He _hopes_ it sounds light.

When May took off, she took the team’s shrink with her. 

And he’s not exactly the hand-holding type.

Coulson nods. Mack can tell he's all up in his head.  
  
“You're not gonna call her 'Agent Johnson' are you?” he teases.  
  
Mack chuckles as Coulson looks up, a searching expression on his face.  
  
“Or, you could,” Mack concedes, his attempt at lightening the load rejected, once again. If it’s not from one side, it’s from the other. 

Hold on.  This isn’t what he does. 

When they settled the whole _guilt_ thing, what with him chopping off his boss’ hand and all, Coulson told him something.

He might need to be reminded.

“Look, you both got another chance,” Mack says.  “Thing are never going to be the same.  You have move with the stream.”

“I’m working on it,” he says, a little defensively.

“Hey, think of it like…a reboot?  What you had, only better.”

Coulson gives him a puzzled look, but he’s not falling for it.

He just sighs and watches the man walk up the stairs to his office.

 

**3.**

 

“Lot of changes lately, huh?”  
  
They kind of do the physical rehab thing together, don't they?  
  
It makes sense.  
  
Neither of them particularly chatty or the soul-bearing types. 

Which is why they do the rehab thing together. 

But she can see it on him?  And also, Mack told her stuff. 

Coulson grunts and puts down the weight with his replacement hand, still working out the motor control. 

He has to concentrate to not just release the weight and drop it.  He’s done that a few times.  

“Yeah,” Coulson says, hiding his frustration a little, glancing up at her.  “You mean Skye calling herself Daisy now?” 

Cutting right to the chase. 

She lets down the weight around her leg, and straddles the bench. 

“I’m trying to figure out how to not feel on the losing side of things,” she offers. 

“Can't remember the last time I felt like a benchwarmer,” she adds, when he stands there quietly watching her.  
  
“We've all been sidelined at one point or another,” he answers back, bending down to pick up the weight again, and put it back on the rack.  
  
Great. He's just going to try to make _her_ feel better.  
  
“Yeah,” she sighs. “I played sports growing up. Overachiever syndrome, super-competitive.”  
  
He smiles knowingly. “I've read your file.”  
  
“I never got to sit back and take it all in,” she says, crossing her arms. “I missed out on a lot of the good stuff.” 

He manages to get the weight back in place then pulls his hand back at the last minute. 

“I've never told anyone this, but, I secretly wanted to be on the pep squad.”  
  
“Really?” he chuckles.  
  
“Get to cheer the other girls on? Get to make all the signs and rally? And prom, when you tower over all the guys? What a nightmare that was. I'll just leave it at that.”  
  
“You don't strike me as someone who ever struggled with popularity,” he says skeptically.  
  
“No, but, sitting on the sidelines, for once, and getting to watch someone _else_ do amazing things…is kinda great.”  
  
“You want to get back in the field, right?” he says, sounding serious.  
  
“Yes,” she says, drawing the word out. “But, it’s let me focus on other things, too.”  
  
Coulson smirks. She's talking about Lance, of course.  
  
She's also _not_ just talking about him.  
  
“So...you're saying I should join the pep squad?” he says back, a little too sassy for someone who she’s trying to console. 

Bobbi rolls her eyes and lays down back against the bench.

Time to work on her shoulder.

 

**4.**

 

“Hey, uh,” he stops her in the hall, on her way to consult with Bobbi about one of the new Inhumans they’re tracking.

 “Yes?” she asks, turning to him quickly.

 Obviously he’s dividing her attentions, and he knows what that feels like.

 He’s been there.

 “I think you’re doing a great job,” he says cheerfully.

 She takes the file in her hands and closes it, puts it down between them, holding it close against her as she gives him her full attention.

 “Really?”

 “Yeah.”

 And he knows what he’s left hanging in the air.  His loss, hers. This new way of doing things. 

Even her hair is new.  Like she had to punctuate it.  
  
“This hadn't been easy on any of us, has it?”  
  
“No,” she says looking at him warmly, or knowing. Or knowingly warming.

“I thought,” he says, continuing, trying to get his boldness back, along with the original intention for doing this.

“Since we’re moving forward. Progress.  That it might be nice.”

“What?” she asks, not following along.

Of course she’s not, because he’s doing this backwards.

“Phil,” he blurts out.

Her eyes go wide as it clicks and she starts in right away, taking a step towards him.

“Sir, you don’t have to-“

“You don’t have to, either,” he answers, wanting to explain this better, but he’s not, and he can back off. 

Either way.

“ _Sir_ .”

“Phil?” he says, pressing his lips together as he shrugs.  There’s a little bit of pleading in his tone and he’s hoping she doesn’t think he’s just being pathetic.

“Sir,  _Phil_ ,” she tries again, making the correction.

“That’s laying it on a bit thick, don’t you think?”

He’s teasing and it breaks the tension, and she smiles back at his bad joke, seeming relieved.

“Okay.  _Phil_ .”

He’s not sure if she’s ready to take it seriously just yet.

But it’s a start.

 

**5.**

He means to call her “Agent Johnson” but it slips out.

For the first time, he calls her _Daisy_.

It’s embarrassing, but she was going toe-to-toe with an Inhuman twice her size.

And he’s in awe.

Seeing her powers unleashed like that.  Seeing her work out his weaknesses and war against hers. 

The level of control against someone who has years of being Inhuman on her.  But then he’s never crossed her before.

He doubts she heard it slip out in all the commotion, and when they’re back on the Z1, and Mack has taken Lincoln to safety, he’s doing what he does on missions like these.

Updating the file on this Lash character, trying to make the connections on the back end so they can move forward.

And trying to fight the adrenaline of them barely getting out of there alive.

Because of her.  The cost to her.

She sneaks up on him.

“Appreciate the vote of confidence back there.”

He tries not to jump, but, he thinks he’s failed.

She puts a hand on his shoulder, and he relaxes in the chair.

“I mostly just stood around and tried to  _not_ die.  No need to thank me.”

“ _Phil_ .”

She’s not saying his name like she had the first dozen or so times. Unfamiliar, like she’s still trying it out.

He turns in the chair to face her, as she takes a step backwards to make room for him.

“I mean, for reminding me of who I am,” she says.  “When I was doubting that I was strong enough. I just-“

She  _did_ hear.  And.  He just can’t believe that meant that much to her.  In a moment like that.

He stands up and looks her in the eye.  The burn on her neck where Lash grasped her, still looks untreated.

Dammit, Daisy.

"You’re your mother’s daughter,” he tells her.  So grateful for who she is.

Hoping they’re the right words.  She’s all of the good things her parents never had a chance-

Then her eyes get huge and watery, and all her confidence melts away into something else.

She throws her arms around him, and hugs him tightly against her, pressing her face against his chest.

He can feel her starting to cry against him, feels her shoulders shake as he draws her into him.

“I never doubted,” he whispers in her ear.

When she pulls back, he wipes a tear from the corner of her eye with his thumb and they just stare at each other.

Something new has happened, and he can’t explain it, not sure he wants to right now.

He knows it must be the adrenaline.

And the way she said his name.

 

**6.**

 

They make their way back into the base from the hangar, her beside him and Mack in between.

He’s not letting them get away with this.

ATCU is  _not_ coming out ahead this time.

“What’s the play, sir?” Mack asks.

“I’m calling in a favor,” he tosses back.  “Talbot owes me one.  And, I bet he’d like to know a little more about Price’s operations. 

“He might be due for another promotion, “Daisy chimes in.

“Nice,” Mack grins in agreement.

He swivels around to look at him.  “Set it up?” he tells Mack.

“Got it,” he answers.

“Agent Johnson.  Debriefing in 10.”

“Copy that.”

He heads to his office and stores his arm before going back to his quarters to get out of his field gear.

Once inside, he slips out of the jacket and hangs it up, then starts on the shirt buttons with his hand.

“Debriefing?”

He turns and sees her leaning against the wall, still in her field uniform.

“Thought you’d like that,” he smirks.  “Didn’t think you’d beat me here, though.”

“Yup,” she says, pushing off against the wall.

“Just following orders.   _Sir_ .”

She passes him, and he can hear the zip of her suit as she heads into the bathroom.

“No need for formalities, _Agent_ ,” he says, raising his voice against the sound of the shower coming on.

He gets rid of his shoes and socks, undoes his belt and slips out of the jeans and briefs.

Sliding back the shower door, he sees her already wet, the shorter hair plastered against her neck.

Washing it all away.

They both hate losing.  It’s personal.  It’s about people.  Their lives.

They’ve discovered new ways to channel their frustrations.

It’s working out _really_ well.

She puts her wet hands on his shirt, instinctively, helps him undo the buttons, since she still has both hands.

The water’s soaking into his shirt, but he doesn’t care. 

He leans forward against her and kisses her hard enough that he manages to get his face splashed by the showerhead, drinking in her and water at once.

She laughs against his mouth at his over eagerness.  It’s not the first time.

Slipping the sticking shirt off his arms not without some difficulty, she pulls him into the water with her, as he slides the door shut with his hand.

“Promise me we’ll get them,” she says, holding his face between her hands.

“We will,” he answers, wrapping his only hand low around her hip, as she gets his bottom lip between her teeth, then swipes over it softly with her tongue.

He can already feel the frustration melting off of him, and she feels hot against his touch, as he slides his fingers down along her hip, until they’re pressed between her thighs.

Hotter and wetter than the water.

She groans against his mouth as he teases her, watching her move against his fingers, as he presses mouth and tongue and teeth against her chin, her ear, her neck, matching the movements of his hand.

Her breathing hitches, and her fingers grasp tightly around the back of his neck, and it makes him shiver with pleasure.

That he can have this effect on her.  Make her feel this good.  Even with this broken body.

He whispers against her, as she comes, leaning back against the tile wall to catch her breath.

“ _Skye_ .”

But only when they’re alone.


End file.
